Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones

[Norrin Radd]

In an alternate universe, Tom Selleck, star of Magnum PI, is allowed by CBS to star in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Does the film and character become nearly as popular?

 

[Aragorn]

I'd say it does. Raiders was something that was different (for people who weren't familiar with all the serials it was inspired by) and breathed new life into movies of the time, making it a very memorable adventure. Probably would've propelled Tom Selleck into movie stardom (and Harrison Ford would've been appearing on Friends).

Now if Pierce Brosnan had been let out of Remington Steele and done The Living Daylights and License to Kill, I think the results would've been the same and he would've been kicked to the curb for someone else when GoldenEye was being made.

Of course, these "what ifs" are infinite for movies since actors are alwaysa turning down parts or can't commit because they're making another movie -- i.e. Kevin Costner could've been in Platoon and The Hunt For Red October.

 

[davejames]

Probably, although from what Spielberg has said, that earlier version probably would have played up the laughs a bit more to better suit Selleck's style. Harrison brought a much more serious and adult tone to the movie.

Either way though, there would have been the same great story and great action.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Selleck, after years of little interest, was cast as Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I. and as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark in the same year. Magnum, P.I. producers would not release the actor and he had to pass on the film role, which then went to Harrison Ford. The decision of choosing the role of Indiana Jones vs. Magnum actually haunted him so much that before making the decision, he consulted his best friend on what to do. Together they came to the conclusion that honoring the contract with Universal Studios was the honorable thing to do. It turned out that the shooting of the pilot for Magnum was delayed for over 6 months, which would have enabled him to complete the role as Indiana Jones. Coincidentally, while Selleck was waiting in Hawaii for Magnum, P.I. to commence, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were in Hawaii as well to shoot scenes for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Selleck later went on to star in High Road to China, one of the many adventure films inspired by the success of Raiders that emerged in the early to mid-1980s.

source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Selleck#Early_career

 

[Captaindemotion]

For:

- ROTLA is such a rip-roaring adventure movie that it had to be a hit, regardless of who played the lead. Don't forget, the movie was nominated for best movie at the Oscars, but Ford wasn't up for best actor!

- Ford wasn't a box office draw at the time. Despite Star Wars, he hadn't really had any other hits. Raiders made a star out of him - without it, he may not have been any bigger a star than Mark Hamill. So Selleck would have put as many bums on seats as he did.

- Selleck may not be a major movie star but he can be funny, charming and dashing - all the things needed to make a good Indiana Jones. And back then, he was quite the heart throb for the laaaaydeees.

- Ford isn't the only person to have played Indiana Jones. There was River Phoenix in TLC and the various actors from Young Indiana. So the character doesn't really belong to Ford - we've seen that others can convince in the role.

Against:

- Selleck is great on tv, but never really had the stuff to be a major movie star. Great in Magnum, less memorable in The High Road To China.

- Ford injected a lot of the personality into Indiana Jones and a more comedic take on the character (to suit big Tom's personality) may not have been quite so popular.

- Other actors may have played Indiana, but does anyone really care that much for Sean Patrick Flannery's take on the character? Nah ... Gotta be Ford.

- Arguably the most memorable scene in ROTLA - where Indy shoots the swordsman - was Ford's idea. The original plan was to have an elaborate duel between the two. Admittedly, had Selleck had a dose of the trots, as Ford did, and not felt up to the scene, he might also have come up with that idea!

- That lop-sided grin. The scars on the chin. The squint. Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones. Would Indy look right with a big 70s 'tache? Hmmm ...


My verdict - Selleck in Raiders would have been a hit all right. Just like Dr No with Patrick McGoohan would have been a hit, as would Star Wars with Kurt Russell as Han Solo or The Untouchables with Mel Gibson. But Ford was definitely the best man for the role and I think Spielberg, Lucas and we movie fans got just as lucky as old Harrison did when Tom's contract nixed his getting the role.

 

[Mysterion]

I think he woulda been pretty good.

Then there's the alternateuniverse were Raiders was made a bit earlier on...

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
(RKO, 1946)

Archeologist "Indy" Jones (Jimmy Stewart) and his girlfriend Marion (June Allyson) and sidekick Sallah (Orson Welles) undertake a quest to find the Ark of The Covenant before the Nazis do. Directed by John Ford (under protest and contractual obligation), Raiders continues to be a fan-favorite despite it's obvious low-budget back-lot locations. The film does feature some innovative special effects work by Ray Harryhausen (although there is an obvious pane of glass separating Stewart from a snake in one scene). Look for some interesting supporting performances by Peter Lorre as the Gestapo Agent Major Toht, and Claude Raines as Indy's rival Dr. Belloq. Despite the film's age and flaws, many find it to be superior to Steven Spielberg's 1981 re-make starring Tom Selleck as Jones.

(Excerpted with permission from "The Ultimate Movie Guide" by Roger Ebert (1999, Schuster & Simon, New Amsterdam)

 

[M'Sharak]

^ I'd watch that.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ Though I think Errol Flynn would have been a better Indy than Jimmy Stewart.

 

[Mysterion]

^ Though I think Errol Flynn would have been a better Indy than Jimmy Stewart.

Thought crossed my mind, but then I thought of Stewart's every-man quality which Harrison ford seems to have in the "Indiana Jones" movies. At that point, Jimmy just seemed a better fit to me. Besides I can more easily pictore him in a beat-up hat and leather jacket than Flynn, who was always pressed and cleaned.

(A side-note: I think you could pretty-much any Jimmy Stewart movie and remake it with Tom Hanks and have it work very well.)

 

[Neroon]

^ Though I think Errol Flynn would have been a better Indy than Jimmy Stewart.

Not for me. As much as I love Flynn in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and "Captain Blood", he would be almost "too pretty" for the Indiana Jones character. Flynn was a dashingly handsome actor, with good looks that would be hard to hide - and that's if he'd even let them. Stewart OTOH, while by no means ugly, had a much more rough hewn look. To me, he'd look more the type who spends a great deal of time in the field.

 

[captcalhoun]

i doubt it would've been popular enough that it got resurrected after a 19 year break...

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ I know what you mean about Stewart's everyman charm and persona. And he and Ford have not dissimilar facial features - prominent nose, lopsided grin. Not just sure about him as a swashbuckler. Professor Jones, yes. Man hanging off side of tank/ jeep/ bridge - not so sure ...

I read an interview the other day with Karen Allen where she said she originally imagined Raiders as a Casablanca-type movie. Bogey as Indy, perhaps, anyone?!

 

[Kryton]

Clark Gable and Cary Grant both had rugged (if somewhat urbane) good looks AND a great sense of timing and humor. Either of them could have pulled the "original" off as well.

 

[Neroon]

Bogey as Indy? Oh I definitely think that'd work as far as the rugged, everyman kind of charm goes. Whether he could handle the more action oriented type of film... that's another matter. I don't know of any particular film he did that would match up with being a "Raiders" type.

Clark Gable... I can see that, too. But Carey Grant ... would require some work. Grant as Indy, would be similar to Brosnan as James Bond. No denying Grant had the acting chops but again... he was so well known for that polish, those good looks.....

 

[Aragorn]

If Indiana Jones were appearing for the first time ever now, who would be the best actor to play the part?

I'm thinking Hugh Jackman.

 

[captcalhoun]

or Brendan Fraser

 

[DWF]

I doubt it Raiders was full of improvising and I don't think Selleck at that age was flexable enough to handle it. However we did get to see him dressed as Indy in an ep. of Magnum called Legend Of The Lost Art which was a low budget TV version of Raiders.

Edited to add: You can see from this picture from that ep. what he would've looked like as Indy.

http://magnum-mania.com/images/8_10_k_full.jpg

 

[Maurice]

I doubt it Raiders was full of inproving ...

"inproving"? What's an inprove?

 

[Mysterion]

I doubt it Raiders was full of inproving ...

"inproving"? What's an inprove?

I think he meant "improving".

 

[Neroon]

As in "improvising".